Had To "Cost Cut" (Furlough, Lay-Off) Your Team Members? Top Thing You Can Do For Them NOW
If your newest job duty includes cost-cutting team members and decimating the amazing team you’ve worked hard to build, keep reading to find ways to do more than just wish there was more you could do. There is one key action you can take for those employees you’ve had to let go and I’ve jam-packed this articles with ways you can do so.
Few people talk about the stress of letting go of good employees due to real time cutbacks, and even fewer talk about what to do and how to lessen the blow of it. What exactly do you do when you have to tell someone they won’t be getting paid in the near future?
Since you still have your day job, and your time is limited, let’s cut straight through to the top action you can take for them now. What is that top action?
Help Increase Their Marketability
The person you are letting go will need to get new employment, and by helping them increase their marketability, you help them land the next job of their dreams. How can you help increase their marketability?
There really are three ways to help improve your ex-employee’s marketability
LinkedIn Recommendations
Boost their job hunting
Generously make introductions
Since you’re a busy person, I’ve listed out what you can do, along with templates to help minimize the time you take in helping your employee out.
LinkedIn Recommendations
Future employers review are looking at LinkedIn when they consider new candidates. Too often we put asking for LinkedIn recommendations at the bottom of our list, and even more often than that, we put writing out recommendations even further down, but when job hunting, those recommendations matter.
Here are two templates to help you write those recommendations:
Long recommendation template:
I worked with <their name> as a(n) <their role>, when I <your role> <project> at <company name>. During this time, I <describe your main interaction>. <Their name> was an <adjective> <their role> and would bring value to any successful and growing company. Not only can <he/she/they> <skill 1>, <skill 2>, <she/he/they> can also <skill 3>, because <they/he/she> knows how to <something they’ve mastered>. <Supporting statement and/or story how you saw it happen at your work>. For those reasons. I <adjective> working with <their name> and would love to work with them again.
Short and sweet recommendation template:
<Their name> was an outstanding <their role> with <supporting skill(s).>
If you have the bandwidth, take some time on the recommendation. Most people have no clue what other people consider their super powers to be. Giving a thoughtful recommendation can be a real confidence booster that can help them stay positive.
If you don’t know what to write, you can always just ask them: “what do you want to be known for?” Use their answers in your post.
Boost Their Job Hustle
Two simple ways to support their job hunt:
Repost their job searching social media posts
Organize a one hour recommendation party
These two actions not only boost their caché, they also go a long way in helping them feel supported in their new journey.
Repost their social
When you repost their social media job posts, vouch for their talent and skills in your repost. This extends the reach of their post, increases the algorithm’s likelihood to display it, this means more people in their network to know they are looking for work.
Organize a recommendation party
If several of your team members had to be let go, invite them to a one-hour remote working session where they focus on boosting each other’s LinkedIn profiles. Let your group know that the purpose of meeting is to make recommendations and endorsements for each other.
Make Recommendations
You can make recommendations by introducing them to your network, or by making targeted introductions if you know someone who is hiring.
Recommending Them To Your Network
The easiest way to recommend someone to your network is by creating a post in your LinkedIn introducing them and their skills. A simple post might read something like:
If anyone needs a <role>, <their name> is an <adjective> person to consider. <you can then follow up with any skill you found impressive about them>.
Just be sure to ask for their permission before you make a post like that :)
Targeted Introductions
If you know someone who is hiring for their specific role, shoot an email directly to the person you are hiring to see if you can make a direct introduction.
Hi <hiring person’s name>, I saw you were hiring for <position>, and I know a great person for that role. Do you mind if I introduce you?
Once you have an agreement, send an introductory email. It can be as simple as:
Hi <their names>, I wanted to connect the two because <hiring person’s name> has a role that I think <ex-team member’s name> would be great for. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!
Things to Note
Two quick things: be sure to ask for permission before you move forward with any of these items and, try and make your help as effortless for them as possible.
When asking for permission, just let them know that you want to help with their job search and would they be okay if you repost their posts, let your network know about their availability, and/or make introductions? You don’t have to ask them about the recommendation, just go ahead and write it, LinkedIn allows you to choose to display it. You may want to follow up with them about that recommendation if you see they haven’t posted it. They might be too shy to request changes in your recommendation.
To make this as effortless as possible, try to take the burden off of your team member. Too often, well meaning colleagues ask, tell me if there’s anything I can do to help you. If you’ve ever been asked that, you know how hard it is to respond. From the tips on this article, you now have a menu of support options you can offer your team member. It will be easier for them to say yes and no to the options you give, than to think about what you can do. Also, if you are recommending them on LinkedIn, go to their page and write the recommendation.
What if you don’t have the time?
Make it. Carve it out of somewhere. If this is a team member that you valued, the steps in this article will show them. Plus, pretty soon they won’t have income coming in, so your support will help them in their hunt for the next thing. The items listed here could be done in 20 - 30 minutes, and I’d say that’s time well spent for a valued employee.
Please share and leave a comment below if you found this information useful. Thank you for your time!